Roman Holiday

The Bali Police working in close cooperation with Interpol have apprehended Italian fugitive Antonio Messicati Vitali (40) at a private villa in Bali sought in connection with a homicide in Italy.

Quoted by the State News Agency Antara, the chief of sub-directorate III of the criminal division of the Bali police, AKP Pande Putu Sugiarta, said: “The suspect was involved in an assault that resulted in the death on the victim. He escaped to Bali to avoid capture by the police.”

The Italian, said to have organized crime affiliations, was arrested at 2:00 am on Friday, December 7, 2012 at the Villa Puri-Puri Kecil on Jalan Basangkasa in Legian.

Sugiarta said the arrest was based on a letter received from Interpol on December 4, 2012, alleging Vitali, originally from Palermo, Sicily, was involved in a mafia conspiracy that resulted in a homicide. That letter sought the assistance of the Bali police to arrest the man who had spent the last six months in Bali.

Col. Andrea Vitalone, from Rome Interpol and based in Thailand, confirmed that Vitali is facing 24 years in prison and is a well known mafia figure linked to extortion, narcotics, human trafficking and arms dealing.

The Indonesian Interpol officer in Jakarta, Iptu Yudhi Y. Saroja, said the Italian police were able to track Vitali to Bali by tracing his Internet protocol numbers via emails sent to his mother in Palmero.

Vitali’s final extradition must now be coordinated with the Indonesian Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, as no formal extradition treaty exists between Indonesia and Italy.

Indonesian police are now investigating Vitali’s activities in Bali, including looking into his visa status during his Bali stay.